The King's Speech and accompanying briefing document set out a wide range of proposed bills (40 in total) which the new government intends to prioritise as part of its promise for change. This article focusses on the ones that we expect will most impact the consumer, food, product and sustainability sectors.
Product and Food
From the outset it was stated that the new government's intention is to be 'mission led' and it is clear that one of these missions is to tackle the rising cost of living and increasing living standards. There is minimal mention on one of the key purchases impacting cost of living, food, with the focus primarily being on workers rights and pay, and energy costs. However we do anticipate that the Labour government will have a focus on consumer protection, including pricing.
And there are a significant number of bills impacting product and food more generally. Most significant is the Product Safety and Metrology Bill. Following the UK product safety review last year, an update was awaited as to whether the UK would see a wholescale change in its body of product safety law. The review covered a wide range of proposals, such as changing the regime from being based on 'product category' to dependant on the risk level of the product, a greater focus on online marketplaces, and greater enforcement.
The inclusion of a Product Safety and Metrology Bill indicates the new government are pushing ahead with changes. Details are currently vague, and it mostly repeats what is stated in the review (which still awaits the official government responses). However, a key point in the briefing is that it will ensure "that the law can be updated to recognise new or updated EU product regulations, including the CE marking, where appropriate to prevent additional costs for businesses and provide regulatory stability."
Currently, certain products on the UK market which comply with pre-Brexit EU law can be sold, and the government recently announced (and legislated on) an indefinite extension of the acceptance of CE marking in the UK (again for some products). The above goes further – it suggests that UK law may continue to keep pace with EU law, in at least allowing products to continue to be put onto the market when complying with EU product safety law, even when it has diverged. This would have a significant impact on companies selling both in the UK and EU, if it does lead to an acceptance of EU compliant products regardless of their law diverging.
The Product Safety side of the Bill references that there will be new duties on marketplaces and some of the fundamental changes that were highlighted in the PSR. When the Bill is introduced it will require careful consideration. It is equally likely that the weights and measures side will have significant impact, but that scope is currently even less clear.
There are plenty of other significant bills impacting product and food:
- Digital Information and Smart Data Bill: part of this is 'establishing Digital Verification Services', including for buying age restricted goods and services. This concept isn't new, and we saw retail trials by the government on this in 2022, but if it goes ahead we could see more flexibility in how to verify for the sale of knives, tobacco, and other age restricted items.
- Crime and Policing Bill: Part of this bill focuses on knife crime, a topic that Idris Elba campaigned on earlier in the year. It notes that it would ban ninja swords and "other lethal blades", with a plan to introduce strict sanctions on senior executive is specifically of online companies who go against the law. Given the law on knives/weapons is currently not straightforward or easy to understand, this should definitely be a concern for online companies.
- Tobacco and Vape Bill: This is also not new and has already been consulted on, mention of it indicating a plan to proceed with progressively increasing the age of purchase until it is phased out completely. This will have an impact on age verification processes (which would need to account for constant changes). Vape sales are also mentioned (specifically marketing), continuing from the previous government's plans.
- Energy drinks and High Fat Sugar and Salt ('HFSS'): Mentioned in the Speech itself were advertising restrictions on 'junk food' and the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to children. Although it doesn't specifically mention HFSS, this carries on from the previous government's work on HFSS advertising restrictions. Energy drink age restrictions are also not new and have been consulted on more than once, and given there is no specifically referenced associated bill it remains to be seen if this will proceed.
Sustainability and Climate
Energy and climate change is undoubtedly a focus of the new government. Other than with sustainable aviation fuel (where there is mention of mandating a % of supply being sustainable), the focus appears primarily macro at this stage:
- Great British Energy Bill: the creation of a publicly-owned energy company focusing on 'clean power'.
- Planning and Infrastructure Bill: a focus on national level changes such as a national grid. However, mention of net zero obligations raises questions about whether the UK plan to follow the EU's lead in updating the energy performance of buildings requirements to (for example) mandate more EV chargers even in existing buildings.
Given Labour's criticism last year of the previous government, with claims they weren't doing enough to focus on waste, there does seem to be a distinct lack of waste related projects mentioned (such as Deposit Return Scheme, Extended Producer Responsibility) along with other product-specific projects that had been in the works such as deforestation due diligence. However, with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs noting a move to zero waste as one of their key priorities, we do anticipate that producer responsibility will come back into focus at some point.
Devolution and the functioning of the UK market
Anyone dealing with regulation in the last 8+ years will have seen tensions running high both between the UK and EU, and within the UK between the national administrations and the UK government.
Both of these points were addressed. Assurances were given that there would be communication and consultation with all UK nations, noting that greater devolution is "at the heart of the modern economy".
This collaboration has not always been a given in years. Despite government framework agreements being put in place to govern how the nations are to work together on policy areas, devolved policy has been a particular sore point. For example with the Deposit Return Scheme, though there was recently a joint policy statement between the nations on the matter, there was criticism of the Internal Markets Act and that it was stifling Scotland's ability to legislate on devolved areas when an exemption in relation to the DRS was rejected. The Scottish Government stated that Internal Market Act itself was passed "without the consent of the Scottish Parliament".
But the new Labour government appear keen to embrace devolution, promising to establish a new Council of the Nations and Regions with the aim of collaboration.
The English Devolution Bill announced appears to focus on devolution at a more local level, with the stated aim being to deliver the manifesto commitment to "transfer power out of Westminster and into our local communities". The phrase 'take back control' is used, but in quite a different sense than we are used to in the Brexit years.
What about the EU?
The position taken on product safety, even though only mentioned briefly, could be an early sign of the new government's willingness to try and reduce divergence with the EU. It might be one of the only ways, aside from renegotiating a return to the EU, of reducing regulatory pressure on food and product UK and EU trade. Of course, it cannot work both ways, requiring the EU to accept UK law.
At the very least, there is a clear intention to improve relations, with a promise to seek to reset the partnership with EU nations. Without this government being tied to it's own Brexit promises and being required to show the 'benefits of Brexit', we might see more flexibility in decision making on EU matters.
What's next?
With these priorities announced, they are now due to be debated in the Commons, so more bill details should follow. We'll be watching for development and if you would like more details on how these Bills may impact your business please get in touch.
